The white-haired young homeless man heart pounded as he was in sight range of the truck. The horns and bright lights were enough to paralyze him with complete fear. Fortunately, he was not at a complete standstill as he quickly moved out of range of the garbage truck. Lincoln caught his breath. He figured that this was a trick by the thieves as he saw a glimpse of their presences. Maybe it was still the shock getting to his head, but he had to get those cans and bottles back.
He left in a rush, but not without being yelled at by the garbage Truck Driver for his recklessness. Lincoln did not have time to deal with that now tried to track the thieves. He was just lucky that the driver did give chase to him next. Lincoln may not have been a detective, but he sure knew track certain things. Knowing the cart was not the most stable, it would be easy the track the object. When he quieted down for few minutes, he heard the squeaky wheel, which indicated his basket cart. Lincoln tracked it through another abandon alley, one not filled with large vehicles.
"Hey," he called out to the thieves. "I would suggest you give that back." He demanded.
"Tough toenails, it's every man for themselves." The thief replied bluntly.
"Please, I really need that back," Lincoln begged, almost on his knees.
The thief thought for a second. "We might be able to give it back to you. That's if you beg more like you mean it."
What else was he going to lose at this rate, so he obeyed? "Pretty please, can I have it back? Look, I don't have any money to give you."
"Nah, I think we will keep it as a down payment, but that watch of yours looks more interesting." The thief glanced at Lincoln's bronze Ace Savvy watch on his right wrist. Lincoln covers up his wristwatch.
"Is there something else you might want besides that? Please, it's all I have left." Lincoln asked, not willing to part with it.
"Nope, either the watch or you don't get your cart back?" the thief thought again. "You know what, I changed my mind. I think I'll just keep the cart and the watch."
Lincoln held his head down. "I see, so that's how it is." As the two thieves started to walk to Lincoln, Lincoln remained perfectly still. When they got close within reaching distance, Lincoln suddenly reacted. He pushed one person on the ground, and Lincoln elbowed the other one in the stomach. While they were down, he snatched the cart and took off running.
"You're going to pay for that you little freak stain!" The thief shouted, chasing after Lincoln.
"Yeah, well you stole from the wrong person, so there!" Lincoln shot back.
He runs away from the thieves as it did not matter where as long as he was away from them. He ran as fast as his long legs could carry his adult body. He counted himself lucky that those sneak attack lessons from his sports sister really came in handy, even if he was never the type to get into an actual fistfight. Still, if she were here, she would waste no time defending her brother as she always did. Even at his adult age, He was still the Man with the Plan of getting out of the tough or at least dangerous situation. However, they would not always have the highest success rate as far as he counted.
In his run, he cut through a crowd of people, including traffic on the roads. He met with honking cars, crossing the streets wrongly, yet he did not let that bother him as he continued his run. Without haste, Lincoln cut through a corner and took a shortcut to the back of a restaurant. Now he was the one out of sight as the thieves were looking for him.
"When I get my hands on that little punk, I'm going to turn him into a human pretzel!" He said, stalking all over the streets.
After that heard the sounds of the cart, they followed the trail. When they found the cart, both of the thieves wasted no time, tackling down the cart and person, only to find out it was not Lincoln. Not only that, but the cart was full of dirty garbage instead of cans and bottles.
Lincoln came out of hiding with his new cart, one that actually has a fixed wheel. "The old bait and switch trick still works after all these years." He whispered to himself.
Lincoln then stepped on a newspaper. Upon one glance, he caught a fascinating as he saw one of his sisters on the paper. He thought he was just seeing things at first, but he was not. On the ink newsprint, he saw his Pageant Princess little sister on the front page. Even at her adult age, she still wore her princess tiara as if she was a real princess. Guess she was used to that kind of style right about now.
As Lincoln red the first headlines, Lola made her Debut in Jolly-Old-England. Funny how Lincoln thought her Pageant career would take her so far, but never this far. Not only was she a Pageant Princess, but she was a Pageant Queen among many. He only hoped that she would keep that nasty attitude and level head of hers together in other to keep fabulous lifestyle.
"Well, at least you made it, congratulations," Lincoln, said tossing the paper into the puddle.
Throwing the thieves off across the street, he was safe for now. He would certainly hate to think what would happen if this situation truly escalated. As a police car rolled by, Lincoln put on his hood and kept his face hidden to avoid further attention then he already drawn. Lincoln was not in the mode for a Q&A from the police at moment.
As he continued his travel on foot, he began to spot billboards. Each one had a representation of an offer or a job in place. The possibilities and choices were all there. For example, there was a billboard for hiring for County Sheriff's, next there was a sign for truckers requiring a CDL, then there was a billboard for Medical School on becoming a doctor, which might have been the highest demand of jobs right now. Lincoln was sure that his brilliant little sister had it covered, even if she was more of a scientist to then a doctor.
Once again, Lincoln's current situation did not make his chances good. In fact, if asked about his appearance, they would shove him out in seconds. In addition, he was still homeless. Through his lost mind, he wondered what he was going to do next. By the constant rumbling in his stomach, it was clear his health came first.
By the half-full amount in his cart, he was sure to get at least a decent amount. On his way to cash his cans, he suddenly crashed into someone. While Lincoln was down, a man suddenly snatched his cart away from him. Lincoln was shocked if not furious by this outcome. With rage, he chased after the person. This time, he did not care obstacle blocked him.
History repeated itself as someone was robbed Lincoln twice. Lincoln had him within ranged as the person was in fear, running for his life. Moreover, it was not as if Lincoln was going to kill him. He chased him to an abandoned yard with an old car parked inside. Lincoln walk closely as he grasped a metal pole, ready to fight if necessary.
"Hey you, give it back!" Lincoln demanded with fury in his eyes. He grabbed him by the shirt, ready hit the person at any moment.
"Please don't hurt me," The person who took his cart held the eyes of fear.
Lincoln felt pounds to his back, only to find a little girl doing it, "Hey you leave my daddy alone you big bully!" She said to Lincoln.
"Honey, what's going on?" A woman came out of the car along with another kid.
"Stop it; don't hurt my daddy." The other daughter begged.
Lincoln has been put on the spot. From the wife, two daughters, Lincoln was meeting with eyes of fear and desperation. It sure gave Lincoln a crushing blow to be a glance at like some kind of thug. Even if he was very much the victim here, this made him feel like the bad person. Still, it was not the first time he was put in a situation like this. It was really quite unfair when looked at this way.
As he continued to stare at the person with angry in his eyes, Lincoln also analyze his situation. He saw the wife and kids also in the homeless situation as he was. The dirty, raggedy clothes and poor health was a clear indication. To make matters worse, the wife was also pregnant. It was definitely not a pleasant endeavor. Lincoln's anger faded from a frown to sympathetic look as he let go of the man. Sure, Lincoln was mad about getting his stuff taken twice of his stuff, but another side could not blame the father for doing what he did.
"Is this your family?" Lincoln calmed down with a sign.
As the fear left his body, he replied. "Yes, it is."
No matter how much he wanted to rip him apart, he could not possibly take away from his family. Lincoln understood perfectly that the man had to provide for his family. Lincoln did the noble thing and let go of the husband's shirt. He then turned his heel to leave. This left the homeless family in question as the glanced at each other.
"Excuse me...are...you?" The wife was hesitant to ask.
"Don't worry, I won't call the cops," Lincoln stated in calm and collected tone. "You need it more than I do. However; you should start thinking more about your family current situation."
"Wait for what?" He asked.
"Wouldn't want to not see your kids again," Lincoln reminded.
"I understand, but it's only a temporary measure. Please, I don't wanna lose my kids."
"And you think that this is the proper life for them?" Lincoln inquired leaving. "I mean the very next time, you might not be so lucky."
Lincoln continued on his way to leave the homeless family. As he took steps at a time, even he thought about their current living situation. Even if Lincoln did have kids, he would never want to see him living like this. If above anything else, he would want them a nice healthy life, even if he was not going to witness them grow up. Still, despite his predicament, Lincoln's heart did pour out to the poor family, and for that, he had no regrets.
Now he had his own problems to worry about.
Back to present day, Lincoln heard voices calling out to him.
"Wake up Lincoln, wake up," Lincoln's best friend called to him.
Lincoln was awake, but barely as his eyes were on the flicker. Not keeping his balance, it caused him to slip out of his chair. He heard everyone's laughter as he fell to the floor. Lincoln collapse on the floor but did not feel any major pain even when landing on his head. The homeroom teacher walked up the middle-child with concern in her eyes.
"Are you okay Lincoln?" Mrs. Johnson asked, noticing the broken desk. "Dang it, I told that janitor to replace that chair a week ago."
"Fine Mrs. Johnson," Lincoln replied in a glum tone.
"Why don't you sit up front instead It is much safer there? In addition, I can keep a close eye on you. Consider this your first warning Lincoln, I don't want catch you sleeping in my class again, do I make myself clear?" She scolded the student.
"Yes ma'am," Lincoln answered.
"Man, I thought Mrs. Johnson was going to give you detention after school," Clyde said.
Lincoln's mind wandered somewhere else, as his head was turned the opposite direction from Clyde. As he looked at the lockers, he was only counting the days how long would his school life last for, before his time. Lincoln's mind was somewhere else as he reminisces about the same dream as last night. Another part of his mind was relieved that Mrs. Johnson was not too cross about Lincoln sleeping in class. Lincoln found himself yawning throughout the day.
"Hey Lincoln, everything okay pal?" Clyde inquired, touching his shoulder.
"Oh, I'm fine Clyde…just…well." Lincoln could barely finish his sentence as Clyde looked in his general direction. "Clyde, have you ever wanted to…catch up to someone?"
"Sure, I'm still wondering how Sean Felter can still crush me in Royal Quest pc game." Clyde had remembered.
Lincoln took a sigh and just said as that was not what he was asking, "Never mind, it's nothing."
"Right, want to hit up Gus-Game-N-Grub; I hear there is a special going on for half price?"
Quickly taking him on Clyde offer, the two of them hung out at Gus-Game-N-Grub. Figures if it meant being out of the house, then it was more than enough for him. Not to mention, he could not take his mind off that thought he had about being at the bottom rank. Both of the boys occupied themselves in the Muscle Fish fighting game. They went round after round of brawling action. Little did Clyde know that Lincoln's mind was a focus on something else other than the game? The nerdy best friend always knew that this game was his specialty. Nonetheless, Lincoln kept his silence as he rematches Clyde in the fighting game.
Clyde figured that maybe quietness was Lincoln's way of concentrating, but it did not stop the nerd from winning against Lincoln. Lincoln then went to the next game of Air Hockey. Clyde figured maybe this game might put Lincoln's game face on, yet it led to the same results of Lincoln losing, much to Clyde's happiness. For once in terms of video games, he was actually on top of Lincoln. He was even able to beat his high score.
"Whoo-Hoo, in your face Lincoln!" Clyde boasted in front of Lincoln. Lincoln held a deadpan face in front of Clyde. As they met, Clyde immediately changed his reaction to a normal one. He did not want to seem like he was Lynn Jr. now with her competitive nature. "Nothing personal of course."
"Yeah sure thing Clyde," Lincoln replied with a deadpan tone.
"What's going on Lincoln, you never lose this badly in the games you like?" Clyde suspected as the clues in on Lincolns losing streak.
"Sorry Clyde, I guess I'm just not feeling it today, can we go home?" Lincoln asked leaving out the door.
"Hey, you have any spare change?" A homeless inquired to the boys, sitting outside the Gus-Game-N-Grub.
"Sorry sir, but I don't have any change to give you," Clyde replied to the man, not sounding mean.
Lincoln stopped as he looked at the homeless man. Through his vision, he saw his future homeless self again. He saw himself again with nothing but the ragged clothes on his back, and his own life through the man. He felt his future self constantly calling out to him from this individual. Even in the current day, it haunted him like a ghost. Lincoln then pulled out a ten from his wallet and presented it to the homeless man.
"Here why don't you go get yourself something to eat, alright," Lincoln told the man.
The homeless man felt like he received gold from this nice gesture of Lincoln. "Oh thank you, young man." He took his leave.
Clyde had resisted the urge to ask Lincoln what he just did since it was for a noble cause. Lincoln was in no mode to talk, so the nerd did not bother to pressure him on the situation. Even if they were always open with each other, even Clyde knew there were times when he did not want to talk about things.
An hour as Lincoln came home; he opened his door and witnessed everyone gathering around. Already he was in question of the situation. Everyone gathered around the young athlete as if she was a celebrity. Lincoln peek his head through the crowd.
"Hey Linc, guess who scored a lot of points in the Lacrosse today? This girl," Lynn boasted as she always does. Lynn Jr. held a trophy over her head.
Lincoln was anything but surprised, "Isn't that convenience?"
"Come on; was there any reason to doubt my awesomeness?" Lynn asked.
"That's great sweetheart, I think we might need a bigger trophy case." Lynn Sr. said.
"Don't you have enough trophies?" Lincoln asked.
"Not when it comes to a natural like me? Sooner or later, those scholarships are going to be lining up."
"We are so proud of you girls. We are sure you have great futures ahead of you." Rita added.
Next thing Lincoln knew, the parents brought their old photo album. Each of the Loud Siblings gathered around to look at old memories of their events. One photo contained Lynn Jr. old soccer competition. The second photo was Luna's junior talent show, scoring first place with her rocking performance. While scrolling through the photos, they came across Lori making the Varsity Golf team.
It only continued with Leni's first goddess sculpture, and Lucy's first grace digging contest. For each photo that was to view, it only brought a further frown on his face. Lincoln's sisters had more things to really worth wild. The only thing that was present in the photo album was his birthday and baby photos. There were barely any photos of his success. For each reminder of what his sisters got and Lincoln did not get, it only made him drift further from his family? He imagined himself below and his sisters above the highest mountain. They only grew higher from each win, and Lincoln remained at the very bottom barrel. He felt himself descending to bottom level as he could not hear or see his sisters.
"Wait!" Lincoln called out of his imagination, only to have his family stare at him awkwardly. It was the center of attention, but not the way he wanted. "I'm going out for a bit, I'll be back before dinner." Lincoln left out the door. As he sat on the front steps that night, both hands placed on his face. When seeing his future self through the puddle, it was very clear that his purpose only spelled failure.
It would only go so far from here.